


just tools in an experiment

by obscurityofphylum



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Training, Young Umbrella Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23582821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscurityofphylum/pseuds/obscurityofphylum
Summary: formal training started when they were eight years old.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	just tools in an experiment

formal training started when they were eight years old.

luther stood in front of his siblings, sparing a glance at his father who stood to the side. they were in the courtyard after dinner, the sun setting and casting beautiful rays of light in the area. his father began to speak. 

"number one. you will spar your siblings individually. i will be the judge of who wins these matches. i encourage you to use this as a lesson to enhance your physical power." he spoke firmly, snake-like eyes flickering over each wary child.

"but i’ll hurt them-!" luther blurted out before he could stop himself, biting his tongue to refrain from saying anything else. his siblings looked just as fearful, shifting nervously.

"silence, number one. they will be treated in the infirmary after your training session. you may begin." the stiff man said. luther took a deep breath.

he tried not to notice. he tried to make it go as fast as possible, not to hurt them. but after a particularly rough tussle, klaus locked eyes with him from underneath him, blood matting his hair and a developing bruise beneath his eye. luther resisted the urge to cry, the urge to mouth apologies as he finished the rest of his training.

that night, he sulked to his bedroom, not even stopping when allison called his name from down the hall. when he grabbed his pajamas, he suddenly became aware of the dried, crusted blood under his fingernails. he heaved a sob, his hands shaking.

he fell asleep crying, hating that the infirmary was the room beside his bedroom, because all he could hear was grace tenderly wiping away ben's tears while she reset a dislocated shoulder. 

diego bit his lip anxiously as he watched the elevator buttons tick down each floor they passed. finally, they reached the basement, where his father led him through the winding hallways into a room that was large and dark. 

when his father flicked on the lights, it was an empty room. except for the middle, which held a large clear cylinder made of glass, filled with water. the top was metal and had a latch, with a ladder leading up to it.

"you will have to trust me, number two. i want you to climb the ladder, and enter the tank when i say." reginald said, gripping his pocket watch. diego, even though he was shaking with fear, obeyed and quickly scrambled up the ladder. the metal bars hurt on his bare feet, but his father had insisted he not wear shoes to training.

"enter." the man barked, and diego hesitated for a moment, gazing at the swirling water below him. he shook his head to clear his thoughts before dropping into the water.

it was ice cold, and felt like needles being driven into his bare skin. he was hardly aware of how the latch above him that he had entered by had closed, and began to get a grip on his surroundings. 

once the cold shock had worn off, he felt okay. it was uncomfortable holding his breath, but he wasn't struggling. his father had his notebook in one hand and a pocket watch in the other. 

after a few minutes, his lungs began to hurt. it started with a dull ache he could ignore if he tried hard enough, but then it got worse. his lungs were throbbing for oxygen that they weren't able to get.

he beat on the side of the tank, trying to alert his father. the panic was beginning to settle in. surely his father wouldn't let him drown, right? 

"just a few more moments, two. you must learn to control your oxygen intake." he said, not looking up from his notebook. 

diego screamed, a muffled, pathetic sound from his position in the water. his small hands scratched at the side of the tank helplessly. bubbles escaped from his mouth, clouding his already-dimming vision. 

that was the moment diego realized he was completely alone, no longer a child but more of a research project. 

allison stood as still as possible while her father attached the wires to her temples. she knew if she resisted, things wouldn't be pretty. 

vanya stood on the opposite side of the room, mirroring allison as pogo attached wires to her, seemingly identical to allison's. her father stepped back and entered the observation room, which was small and had paneled glass that gave a view to the room the sisters stood in. pogo followed him.

"we'll start simple, three. i would like you to tell your sister to do a simple task, such as say a word or walk towards you." reginald said, his voice somehow still booming even through the glass barrier. allison inhaled a deep breath before speaking.

"i heard a rumor..." she began, and immediately sound waves became visible, bending the light around them. vanya's eyes grew lighter, irises becoming a periwinkle blue.

"that you will walk towards me now." she said. vanya's eyes returned to their normal brown color, and she walked across the room towards allison.

"we will now work on emotions. three, give your sibling a command that will make her cry or anger her." reginald said, his eyes not leaving the monitor that displayed waves of brain function.

"but i don't want to upset her? why would i do that...?" allison asked, her voice high-pitched and uncertain. reginald looked up, irration visible. his hand shifted on his cane, and allison understood the message loud and clear.

she bunched her hands into fists, his fingernails digging into her palms. her voice was quiet and sorrowful this time.

"i heard a rumor... that you were upset." allison said, watching as vanya's eyes lightened before darkening again, this time swelling with tears as they returned to their normal hue. a teardrop ran down her pale cheek, and she wiped it away with her sleeve uselessly as more cascaded down her face. 

allison almost cried too. 

klaus's first instinct was to run when reginald pulled open the mausoleum doors, sunlight streaming in to the stone tomb eerily. but he couldn't run with pogo's grip on his hand, and he doubted he would get far even if he could. 

"be brave, four. your father is right, you must overcome your fears." pogo said, but something in his tone gave away that he didn't fully mean what he was saying. 

the boy swallowed hard, entering the dark room. he was just about to chicken out, to run back through the courtyard and into the house, into grace's loving arms, when the doors shut behind him. he startled, jumping with fright. 

"h-hello?" he asked quietly, his voice echoing. almost immediately, the spirits answered. they swirled into his vision, mangled and grey, screaming in his ears. 

"n-no, please-" klaus begged, falling back and awkwardly scrambling into the corner, hugging bruised knees to his chest. he tried to bury his face in his lap, but they were even worse when he closed his eyes.

a young woman cradled her intestines in her hands like a baby, crying for help as they poured from her abdomen. next to her stood a little boy, maybe a little younger than klaus, his face burnt and charred a horrendous shade of black and scarlet red. klaus dry heaved at the sight, retching onto the floor next to him. 

they begged him for help that he couldn't give. he sobbed, his entire body shaking. finally, he was too exhausted from fright to stay awake, so he curled into a ball on the ground, his scruffy hair becoming tangled and dusty. hunger clawed at his stomach and his mouth was dry. he could feel his lips cracking.

after what seemed like days, the heavy doors opened with a shriek of protest, revealing his father and pogo. he stayed silent as pogo scooped his scrawny frame up with ease, carrying him into the house. 

klaus felt pogo place him down on a couch in the sitting room, his eyes still closed. he could still taste vomit in the back of his throat, and his spine hurt from the uncomfortable position.

"four, go clean yourself up." his father said shortly, walking away. klaus either didn't hear or didn't have enough strength to get up, becuase he sunk into sleep and the next thing he knew grace was prodding his shoulder.

"wake up, sleepyhead. you'll need a bath before dinner." grace said, her voice sing-songy despite her concern. klaus immediately latched himself to her, hugging as tight as he could. grace held him, rocking him back and forth like a baby despite the dust and grime and tears that she was getting covered in. 

klaus sobbed, little fingers clutched tightly to the front of her dress as she carried him to the bathroom, not putting him down as she readied the bath. as she undressed him, she hummed lullabies, her smile never fading from her face. 

an hour later, laying in bed with still slightly-damp hair and his belly full with dinner, grace gave him a goodnight kiss to his forehead. 

when she went to leave, klaus asked her to keep his bedroom lights on. he didn't want to sleep in the dark ever again.

five shrieked as the glass shards cut into his arms. he had teleported into the wrong place again, and had shattered a glass cup from the impact. 

"again." reginald said, not even blinking. five furrowed his brow, suddenly aware of how much he was sweating. 

he tried again, this time landing in the middle of the room. he looked towards his father for praise, but his father hadn't even noticed. five cursed under his breath. to think he might even get the smallest bit of reassurance.

"again!" his father shouted, breaking him out of his thoughts. he tried, his hands glowing blue but meeting an invisible barrier.

"i can't-" five said, his exhaustion hitting his body in waves. 

"i will not take this laziness, yes you can. we are going to be here until you can give me five more correctly landed spatial jumps." reginald barked, snapping his notebook closed.

tears brimmed in his eyes, which he quickly forced back down. he gave two more jumps, which by some grace of the gods, landed correctly. by the third, he was trembling and panting with effort. 

his father showed no remorse.

five learned what the word resentment was that day, sitting in front of his english lesson book as grace used tweezers to remove shards of broken glass from his arms. 

ben watched with confusion as pogo dumped a metal trap into the training room. ben watched as a gaggle of feral cats hissed and screeched as they ran from the open cage. he recognized a few of them from when grace would allow him to take small saucers of milk outside to feed them. 

once they were somewhat settled, reginald and pogo returned to their positions in the observation room. ben stood with his feet together, trying to silence the anxiety that felt like a stone in his throat.

there were ten cats, all of different shapes and sizes. they wandered, sniffing their surroundings obliviously. 

"number six, i want you to clear this room. leave no creature alive." reginald said. ben nearly screamed.

"but they're animals! i can't hurt them, they're innocent!" ben cried, his little hands balling into fists. he tried to quail the horror, which was rolling in his gut already.

"do as i say." reginald spoke firmly. ben cried, shouting inaudibly as his vision filled with tears. 

"don't make me do this! please don't-" ben sobbed, cut off as the horror broke free from his body. 

the next thing he could remember was blood and clumps of fur littering the room, on the walls and the ceilings. feline limbs were strewn along the floor. ben, at the sight of a mangled torso, vomited onto the ground, salty tears stinging his face.

"you've done well, six." reginald said, patting the boy's back roughly. 

his palm was covered in blood when he pulled away. 

vanya stood in front of the table, the tuning fork resonating around her. she felt the wind pick up as she focused, and everything became sharper and clearer.

suddenly, every glass shattered, the rusty chains of the chandelier shaking from the impact. reginald's calm, collected demeanor fell and he failed to hide his shock and dismay.

pogo and her father remained on either sides of her on the elevator and the basement hallways. they paused at what looked like a large capsule, pogo turning a steering knob. the air pressure left the room with a hiss. 

even though her legs were shaking from fear, she stepped into the iron-walled prison, turning around just as pogo resealed the door with a clank.

almost immediately she felt the panic set in, and her lungs began to suck in air that was put in overdrive. her head felt fuzzy, and her chest even worse. vanya stepped backwards into the wall, spikes digging into her shoulders. she jumped back with a startled shriek, racing to the middle of the room.

she couldn't breathe in here.


End file.
